Working Towards Solutions in Cannon Beach, Oregon

ALEX PAJUNAS — The Daily Astorian Beachgoers wade or float back and forth across Ecola Creek in Cannon Beach. This year 11 Clatsop and Tillamook County beaches are being monitored for enterococcus, bacteria present in animal and human waste. More photos on the Web at www.dailyastorian.com ALEX PAJUNAS — The Daily Astorian Bathing seagulls freshen up near the beach in the waters of Ecola Creek Wednesday. Mark See, the Cannon Beach public works director, says DNA tests by the city indicate gulls are the main polluters of streams running over the beach. Water monitoring comes ashore Summer means it’s time to begin tracking beaches for contamination By NANCY MCCARTHY The Daily Astorian CANNON BEACH - Two health advisories issued for beaches in or near Cannon Beach this summer signal that the beach-monitoring season is under way. This year, 25 of the state's 94 beaches are being monitored weekly, every two weeks or monthly for enterococcus, bacteria that is present in animal and human waste. It also indicates the presence of other bacteria. Bacteria can enter the ocean, creeks, rivers and outflows from a variety of sources, including stormwater runoff, animal and seabird waste, failing septic systems, spills from sewage treatment plants or discharges from boats. Of the 25 beaches slated for routine monitoring, 11 are in Clatsop and Tillamook counties. While most of the beaches usually don't show high enough counts of bacteria to rate an advisory, the Ecola Court outflow pipe in midtown Cannon Beach garnered 12 advisories after 26 tests last year. This year, so far, the percentage of good tests over bad is better: It failed only once - during April - in nine tests. "Over the past few months, we've seen water quality at Ecola Court outfall improve," said Charlie Plybon, Oregon Field Manager for Surfrider Foundation. The foundation monitors water quality on beaches and has been critical of Cannon Beach's efforts to address the outfall area. Recently, however, the city and the foundation began working together to develop solutions. But, Plybon added, "The area is still of concern until we can demonstrate this 'improved' water quality over time, and beachgoers are safe from advisories." Advisories are issued when more than 158 organisms of bacteria per 100 milliliters of water are found in the samples. The bacteria can cause gastroenteritis, skin rashes, upper respiratory infections and other illnesses. State health officials warn people to avoid wading in creeks that have advisories and to stay clear of water runoff flowing into the ocean. On April 5, the monitor for the state's testing system found 579 organisms at the outfall site. Two subsequent tests - on April 19 and May 3 - indicated the presence of organisms was significantly reduced, and state officials lifted the advisory. The Hug Point advisory, issued June 29, was the first in nearly three years, when an advisory was posted for the south end of the cove on July 30, 2007. The advisory was lifted a week later. Tolovana State Park hadn't been tested since Oct. 29, 2007, and at that time no organisms were detected. This year, however, an advisory was issued June 2 and lifted on June 9. A subsequent test on June 14 could not detect bacteria. "Tolovana Park has been a relatively clean area over the years and it fell off the radar of the state's monitoring program for this reason," Plybon said. The state took a sample from the area following a request from Surfrider, he said. "In all honesty, that doesn't really tell us much other than we need to test more," Plybon added. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has required 35 coastal and Great Lakes states and territories to monitor beaches since 2000. But because the $230,000 EPA grant isn't enough to cover all of Oregon's 94 recreational beaches, monitoring is done on the top 25 that have a high use, a history of pollution or are near potential pollution sources, said Jennifer Ketterman, Oregon beach program coordinator. The state has learned that each beach has its own character and personality, Ketterman said. "What we find on the South Coast is different than what we find on the North Coast," she said. Where the monitor collects the water sample depends on the size of the beach and whether one particular area has a history of a high bacteria count, Ketterman said. The Ecola Court outfall, for instance, has a history of higher-than-normal bacteria counts, so samples are taken at the pipe as water flows out and in the stream as it empties into the ocean. Monitors are particularly concerned about pipes that flow on the beach "because people are getting more water contact," she said. Although the state receives funds to test the water, it doesn't have the money to investigate the source of bacteria when the tests fail. "There are a variety of sources near the shore or inland," Ketterman said. "They could come from animals, seabirds, diapers, agricultural products, sewage treatment plants, septic tanks, boat disposals. It's a pretty complex process." The problem is even more complex, she added, because the presence of bacteria can fluctuate wildly. "You can collect data one minute and it will be different the next minute," Ketterman said. That has been a frustration experienced by Mark See, Cannon Beach public works director. Because it takes time to get a test result the city isn't notified until the next day that a problem exists, he said. "We're getting a warning today about the tests yesterday.... We need real-time testing for a real-time warning." Cannon Beach is tested every Monday during the summer. If the test fails, more samples are taken on Wednesday and confirmed on Thursday. The public is notified on Friday. "There's a real flaw in the testing program," See said. Eventually, he said, "real-time" testing will be available so city officials and the public will know instantly that bacterium is in the water. Recent DNA tests performed by the city indicate gulls are the main polluters to the streams on the beach, See said. He intends to send samples to an Oregon State University lab to confirm the source whenever Cannon Beach tests high. This will rule out other sources, such as a misconnected sewer line or illegal dumping. See also hopes that, eventually, the city and Surfrider can take over testing Cannon Beach's water from the state so money will be freed up to test other coastal sites. "My vision is that we want the Department of Human Services to do lots of testing for everyone if we agree to do our own testing," See said. The city's testing would be checked against Surfrider's tests for accuracy. But, while the city can continue to monitor the water and take steps to remedy some pollution source, the public needs to get involved, too, See said. The city's public works committee is drafting educational pamphlets, which will be distributed to local hotels and businesses. The pamphlets will discuss why water is tested, the risks of contacting untreated water and other facts involving water tests. "When you do a lot of test sites in one place like Cannon Beach and one pops up bad and an advisory is issued, it sounds like there's an advisory for all of Cannon Beach," See said. "It affects business. The chamber of commerce has gotten involved, so we have a balance of all concerned parties." The public works committee may also ask the City Council to prohibit people from feeding birds and other wild animals. The animals become used to the feeding and stay close to public areas, See said. Instead, they should be discouraged from roosting on roofs. "You always see gulls on the roof tops and parking lots of the Surfsand, the Wayfarer and the American Legion building," he said. When they leave their waste on the roofs or asphalt and a summer rain occurs, "there's just enough rain to put a slurry of seagull poop into the drainage system." Those buildings are also close to the stream that runs from the Ecola Court outfall, across the beach and to the ocean. Other solutions may be found as well. Roof drains may be disconnected from the city's drainage system and put into "drainage swales" where the water is filtered through natural vegetation before being directed into the city's drainage pipes, See said. But drainage swales take up space, which is scarce in developed areas near the beach. But See will experiment with another "pre-treatment" method when the restrooms on Second and Spruce streets are reconstructed later this year. He plans to build a "rain garden" that, much like the drainage swale, will act to filter out pollution from the building's roof before it goes into the city's system. Although the contamination can be reduced, it will never be eliminated, See said. "The truth is, there's fresh water everywhere. And there's still some chance that bacteria will get into that fresh water."

A new BWTF program begins tackling pollution in Seattle

The Seattle Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation recently relaunched their BWTF program. Dr. J. Scott Meschke, PhD, MS, JD, Assistant Professor in the University of Washington Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences is assisting the chapter with their water testing program. Dr. Meschke has provided the Blue Water Task Force with the use of lab space and training in lab procedures. Chapter volunteers are collecting and running their own water samples, as well as collecting sand samples from the intertidal zone for research on the retention of MRSA and other pathogens in the environment that Dr. Meschke’s and Dr. Marilyn Roberts are undertaking. The Chapter started sampling freshwater sites at the end of 2009 and have added some marine beaches to their sampling program this spring. They are now currently monitoring nine sites, including beaches, streams, and marinas. Their most recent water quality data are posted online.

For the past 3 months, one of their sampling sites, a fresh water stream that runs through Golden Gardens Park, has been testing extremely high for bacteria, well above state standards. This is very concerning as this site is a very popular stream for children to play in. The chapter contacted the King County's Department of Health to alert them to the problem. They sent their results as well as a picture of kids playing in the stream less than 48 hours after the most recent high result. The Department of Health took the Chapter’s concerns seriously and will begin notifying the public of the danger that this polluted water can pose to bathers. The chapter is working with the City to develop streamside signage that will educate the public about the pollution and hopefully deter families from playing in the stream. The Chapter has also received great coverage on this issue by local news reporters. Check out these links.

NWCN.com

KIROTV.com

SeattlePI.com

Ballard News-Tribune

Public notification is just the first step. The chapter is now pursuing funding options to do a source identification study. Possible pollution sources to the Golden Gardens Park include a dog park directly upstream or one of the other streams that feed into this stream from Seattle. Congratulations to the Seattle Chapter for forming good partnerships with both the University of Washington to get their water testing program off the ground and running and with the King County Department of Health to raise public awareness and look for solutions for their local water quality problems. Thanks also goes out to all the volunteers that donate their time and expertise to collect samples and help out in the lab.

Stream at Golden Gardens Park, Washington

Addressing Watershed Pollution with Volunteer Data in Ventura, CA

Throughout the fall and winter of 2008, the Ventura Surfrider Chapter and Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, through their Stream Team partnership, have collected water quality data and photo- documented contaminated discharges from a ranch whose discharge entered the Ventura River immediately upstream of Surfer's Point.

The Chapter submitted official complaints to the City of Ventura and other local agencies regarding the ongoing pollution. SB Channelkeeper submitted the Stream Team's water quality data and information to the Regional Water Quality Control Board. The Regional Board inspected the operation and met with ranch managers and representatives from the Ventura County Farm Bureau and ordered the ranch to install best management practices (BMPs) to eliminate the pollution.

According to the Farm Bureau, over the last year, the ranch has installed a number of measures to improve water quality including micro sprinklers, 2 major grass lined ditches and sediment basins to filter out sediment before it leaves the property. So far, water quality data collected in 2009 and visual observations suggest that the BMPs have made a difference, but more monitoring is required before the effectiveness of the BMP in reducing polluted discharges to the Ventura River from the subject ranch can be determined. The Stream Team will continue to sample and monitor the water quality in this location throughout 2010.

Congratulations to Ventura for getting their data out into the community and pushing their neighbors to be better stewards of their watershed.

Newport Chapter Continuing to Push for Clean Water

The Newport Chapter has been using their water testing program very successfully to continue to keep awareness of pollution issues in their watershed elevated in their city. While improvements have been seen at their local beach, some problems still persist and Surfrider keeps asking for the City and her residents to do more to solve these issues. Two postings below taken from the Surfrider Oregon Blog.

Not Again Newport...we have come so far!

After nearly 2 years of sourcing out sewer misconnections, improving stormwater codes/best management practices, improving notification/postings and cutting down the beach advisories, we're back to a challenging point with sewer overflows at Nye Beach. It seems large volumes of stormwater have been infiltrating the sewer lines (those same lines we thought were inspected and had some pipe-bursting/relining done), resulting in some serious sewage overflows at Nye Beach. The local Blue Water Task Force has been getting readings off the chart, some of the highest we've seen at Nye Beach in our 10 years of testing. What can you do? Demand clean water, join us at the next council meeting (November 23). Note the picture at right and the nebulous "contaminated with...". We can do better!

Sewage at Nye Beach, Where do I come in?

The What

Over the course of the past 3 years, the Newport Chapter of Surfrider Foundation has been working with the City of Newport to improve the Nye beach stormwater and sewer issues that have resulted in high bacteria counts at Nye Beach. While the sewage issues still occur (although less frequent...insert happy face), on occassions of intense rain, these issues may be linked to several problems as close as your backyard. And to that extent, the City of Newport issued some sixty letters to homeowners in the City of Newport to make some improvements for improper connections. Now let's break these issues down a little:

The Why

Bottom line, too much rain in the sewer. You see, these sewer overflows occur because the Nye Beach pump station can only take so much sewage at one time. While the pump station is well equipped to handle our sewer demands and multiple upgrades have occurred over the past few years, it can't handle excessive volumes of rainwater that enter the system. Now wait a second you may say, I thought we had separate systems for rain runoff (stormwater) and sewer lines! And yes, you are correct. The problem is there are places where rainwater can get into the sewer lines...some of them may be at yourhouse. That's right, some of the homes here in Newport have their downspouts from their homes connected to the sewer lines sending high volumes of rain to the system. Of course there are other places like manhole covers for sewer lines and old joints where saturated ground water can make it's way into the sewer system.

The You

The Newport Chapter of Surfrider Foundation is working with the City of Newport on strategies for improving infrastructure and sourcing other non-point sources (which will cover in a future post...as this also involves you). To date the City has been doing extensive source water quality testing up the urban watershed and smoke testing for proper sewer line connections. These tests have found sewer lines connected to storm drain lines sending untreated sewage directly to the beach through the stormwater outfall. They've found homes where small animals being raised are polluting Nye creek with there feces. They've found excessive dump spots for animal and human feces (literally bucket fulls!). And, they've found many homes with improper downspout connections to sewer lines sending rainwater into the sewer system. So, here's where you fit in, from simple to complex:





A) Engage with the Newport Chapter - come to a meeting, help with water quality monitoring...lots of opportunity, figure out what's right for you

B) Check your downspouts - make sure they are properly connected to the stormdrain (not the sewer line!) or if feasible, look into a rain barrel or downspout disconnection and rain garden - click here to learn a little more

C) Clean up! - Be sure and properly dispose of your pet waste...every little bit counts and can add up quickly in an urban watershed.

Watershed Partners: Sending Volunteers Upstream and Out to Sea

The Rhode Island Chapter and the Chapters in Ventura and San Diego Counties in California are maximizing their BWTF volunteer efforts by partnering with other environmental organizations. While the two California chapters are sending volunteers up into their watersheds to collect water quality information with volunteers from other community groups and environmental organizations, the Rhode Island BWTF volunteers make up the beach component of their state watershed program.  

While the Chapters bring manpower and enthusiasm to these watershed programs, their partners take responsibility for training, data management, and all of the logistics of running water-testing laboratories. These successful partnerships are great models for volunteer water testing programs. Learn more about each program below.

Ventura County, California
Ventura Stream Team began early in 2001 as a partnership program of Santa Barbara Channelkeeper and the Ventura Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. Coordinated by the Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, Stream Team recruits and trains community members to take part in monthly water quality monitoring sessions. Although the Cities and Counties test ocean and creek water weekly at many spots, there is no regular and comprehensive testing of either the Ventura River watershed or the Goleta Slough watershed. The obvious action is to go up-stream, and test the water at every major reach and junction to locate the 'trouble' spots.

Learn more on the Ventura River Stream Team's website or check out this video

San Diego, California
Volunteers from the San Diego Chapter are heading upstream to perform watershed testing. Coastkeeper engages hundreds of dedicated citizen volunteer water monitors, providing useful water quality information to the general public, and partners with a wide variety of regulatory agencies, academic institutions, businesses and non-profit organizations.

San Diego Coastkeeper’s Watershed Monitoring Program strives to:
• supplement the limited water quality data resources available,
• protect sensitive ecosystems,
• identify and abate pollution sources,
• track the effectiveness of pollution prevention plans and
• prevent further degradation of our precious water resources.

Learn more on the coastkeeper website or watch their training presentation.

Rhode Island
The Rhode Island Surfrider Chapter’s Blue Water Task Force collects water samples for bacterial analysis on a monthly basis. Volunteers collect samples from twelve popular beaches throughout Rhode Island. Once collected, samples are sent to the University of Rhode Island's Watershed Watch laboratory, where they are analyzed for traces of E. Coli, Fecal Coliform and Enterococcus bacteria.

The University of Rhode Island Watershed Watch Program is a statewide volunteer monitoring program. It focuses on providing current information on the water quality of surface water resources throughout Rhode Island, including lakes, ponds, reservoirs, rivers, streams and the marine environment.

The goals of this program are:
• To promote active citizen participation in water quality protection.
• To educate the public about water quality issues.
• To obtain multi-year surface water quality information in order to ascertain current conditions and to detect trends.
• To encourage sound management programs based upon water quality information.

For more information, visit the URI Watershed Watch website.

The Blue Water Task Force: Creating Partnerships to Improve our Beaches

Presented at The Coastal Society's 21st Biennial Conference
Coastal Footprints: Minimizing Human Impacts, Maximizing Stewardship
June 29 - July 2, 2008, Redondo Beach, CA
Mara Dias & Charlie Plybon, Surfrider Foundation

The Surfrider Foundation is a grassroots, non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves and beaches for all people, through conservation, activism, research and education. The Surfrider Foundation operates through a system of over 80 chapters located in almost every coastal state and internationally.

The Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) is the Surfrider Foundation’s volunteer water quality monitoring, education and advocacy program. Designed to take advantage of the daily presence of surfers and beachgoers in coastal waters, it is the Surfrider Foundation's most visible and successful program to date.

The BWTF program serves many purposes beyond providing a record of beach water quality. Chapters are educating students about water-quality issues and promoting a coastal stewardship ethic. Our chapters are also utilizing this program to alert citizens and officials in their communities about water quality problems and to work toward solutions.

BWTF volunteers often become advocates for the beaches and watersheds they are monitoring and bring their data to local decisionmakers when water quality issues are discovered. Many Surfrider chapters have been very successful at elevating public awareness of water quality issues and integrating science into local management schemes aimed at solving beach pollution problems.

Newport, Oregon

The Blue Water Task Force laboratory in Newport, Oregon is located at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Nearly thirty Surfrider volunteers participate in this program by collecting weekly water samples from Newport’s beaches and upstream waterways. Past BWTF data have revealed consistently high bacteria counts at Nye Beach and in Nye Creek. Concerned by the lack of public awareness of this pollution problem, the local chapter approached the City with their data. In 2005, the City of Newport responded by forming the Mayor’s Water Quality Committee to deal with the issues Surfrider was raising.

The chapter worked cooperatively with the Mayor’s Water Quality Committee to improve public notification of the creek’s contamination through newly developed signage. Nye Beach and the Nye Creek outfall were also included in the State of Oregon’s Beach Monitoring Program for the first time. This was a pretty significant achievement as these locations were not even being tested previously, and Nye Creek became the first freshwater site ever to be included in the State’s regular beach monitoring program. The Committee also developed watershed education leaflets that were distributed with the City’s utility bills.

In early 2007, the mayor concluded the Water Quality Committee but the chapter has continued to push local and state authorities to investigate and to start solving the pollution problems in Nye Creek and Nye Beach.

As part of their efforts to identify the sources of pollution, the chapter performed a watershed characterization that included sewer and stormwater infrastructure mapping and hot-spot testing. Illegal dumping of waste from trailers and homeless camps were identified as one possible source of contamination in the upper watershed of Nye Creek. The city responded by removing the trailers and fining their owners. A nuisance ordinance was also passed to move the homeless camps away from the creek.

The work to identify the source of pollution continued, however, as the greatest concentrations of bacteria were found in the lower watershed. While the Chapter had difficulties at first trying to motivate the City Council to seriously investigate the sources of pollution, a youth volunteer group, Nye – Awareness, Research, Monitoring and Stewardship (ARMS), was more successful. This group was formed by members of the Oregon Coast Aquarium’s Youth Volunteers, who had been collecting and analyzing water samples. Under the guidance and mentorship of the Chapter, these youth became more involved in researching the Nye Creek Watershed. As part of their collaborative project with the Newport Chapter, they presented their findings from their winter water quality project to Newport City Council and made recommendations for Nye creek water quality issues.

In response the City began conducting smoke and dye testing to investigate the storm water basin and discovered several misconnections. Seven properties were discharging directly to the storm water system instead of the city sewer. These cross-connections have since been rectified. Learn more about the smoke testing and the investigation at http://www.newportnewstimes.com/articles/2008/04/18/news/news01.txt
http://www.newportnewstimes.com/articles/2008/04/04/news/news16.txt

The chapter was also successful in convincing the City Council to revise Newport’s municipal code to mandate best management practices for water quality improvements through sewer, storm water and other non-point source pollution controls. The City unanimously passed an animal waste removal ordinance and watershed protection ordinances regulating stormwater runoff, including the creation of a stormwater utility and an opt-out incentive program for residents and businesses that participate in stormwater disconnect projects on their property.

Further reductions in non-point source pollution will also hopefully be seen in Nye Creek from the installation of a biopond in the upper watershed. The City of Newport has received approval from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to install this biopond to improve water quality in the watershed. Newport is able to use 80% of a past fine levied by the state for water quality violations to fund this Supplemental Environmental Project. The Newport Surfrider chapter was involved in the design phase of this project.

The Newport chapter’s BWTF program has also branched out beyond the Nye Creek watershed to participate in the Mid-Coast Basin Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program. Located on Oregon’s central coast, the Mid-Coast Basin contains urban areas, agricultural lands, and public and industrial forests. Approximately 500 of its 2,765 stream miles are in violation of water quality standards for fecal coliform or E. coli bacteria. Volunteers throughout the Mid-Coast Basin are collecting water samples, and Surfrider will be providing its bacteria data to the DEQ to establish TMDL Load and Wasteload Allocations.

San Vicente Creek, California

The San Mateo County Chapter has also successfully used their BWTF program to raise awareness of water quality issues and initiate change in the San Vicente Creek watershed in California. The San Vicente Creek flows entirely within San Mateo County and drains to the ocean in the James V. Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. The Chapter’s interest in this watershed began when they noticed that the beach in the Reserve was almost constantly posted with a swimming advisory due to high bacterial counts. Despite the advisory, the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve is a very popular beach for school field trips, and children were observed washing their hands in the creek on numerous occasions.

The Chapter decided to contact local authorities at the San Mateo County Health Department to investigate the source of the bacterial pollution. Together with the County and landowners along the creek, they began testing the water quality upstream to identify hot spots of pollution in San Vicente Creek watershed. This collaborative study identified numerous sources of bacteria including old septic and sewer systems, animal pens, illegal agricultural residences, equestrian facilities and illegal discharges.

All landowners were very keen to take action to reduce their impact on the San Vicente Creek Watershed. The chapter and county worked with the equestrian facilities to install Best Management Practices (BMPs) such as moving fences away from the creek, moving manure piles, composting manure, changing how horses are pastured and altering the farms’ drainage. The chapter conducted monthly water quality monitoring at the equestrian facilities and brought middle school students to Moss Beach Ranch to demonstrate the BMPs as part of the chapter’s Watershed Discovery Workshop.

The water quality at the beach in the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve has improved. The beach isn’t posted as often as it once was. Even when the water quality does not meet the bathing standard, the bacteria levels aren’t as high as they once were. The chapter continues to participate in the San Mateo County Department of Health’s Recreational Water Quality Program by collecting water samples from area beaches. Read more at http://www.examiner.com/a-649285~County_marine_reserve_on_mend.html

Other Chapter Efforts

There are many other examples throughout Surfrider where chapters have successfully applied scientific data and studies to raise community awareness of water quality issues. In doing so, Surfrider volunteers are motivating local governments and stakeholders to locate and take action to eliminate sources of beach water pollution.

After a source tracking study identified pet waste as the major source of fecal pollution in a section of the inter-coastal waterway near Charleston, SC, the Charleston Chapter obtained a small grant from the City of Folly Beach to make and install plastic bag dispensers at beach access points for dog owners’ use. The Chapter’s “Love Dogs, Hate Poop” campaign includes an education element and has led to the design of the Dog Rocket (patent pending). Chapter volunteers continue to maintain the plastic bag dispensers.

In California, the San Luis Bay Chapter noticed an interesting trend when they evaluated three years of water quality testing data from Pismo Beach. The results showed that higher levels of bacteria were being measured during the dry summer months than during the winter when storm water is more likely to flush pollutants from the landscape. The Chapter brought this to the attention of the City, who responded very favorably by forming a Pismo Beach Water Quality Group. This Group has already improved the public notification system of beach closures at Pismo Beach and has successfully applied for a state grant to fund a source tracking study.

In addition to using their own BWTF data to highlight water quality issues, Surfrider chapters are also helping to get agency beach data out to the public by posting it on websites, sending out email alerts, and putting up posters at beaches, schools, and other community bulletin boards. Through these efforts, the Blue Water Task Force is linking the regulatory agencies with concerned citizens and resource users.

Summary

The Surfrider Foundation is a grass-roots network of volunteers that come from all walks of life and backgrounds. Surfrider’s diverse global membership is motivated by their common love for the ocean and a strong desire to protect our beaches for everyone’s enjoyment. The Blue Water Task Force Program provides a vehicle for volunteers to participate in science and to motivate coastal communities to take action to clean up our watersheds and improve the water quality at our beaches.

Oregon Youth Volunteers Present to Newport City Council

In May 2008, The Oregon Coast Aquarium’s Youth Volunteers, as part of their collaborative project with Newport Chapter of Surfrider Foundation, presented their winter project to Newport City Council on their findings and recommendations for Nye creek water quality issues. Through the creation of a youth volunteer group, Nye – Awareness, Research, Monitoring and Stewardship (ARMS), the Newport Chapter was aiming to get some better public messaging about the water quality issues facing Nye Beach and creek.

Renee Rensmeyer, youth volunteer coordinator, worked with local chapter members to mentor the Nye ARMS winter project. The kids, over the course of the winter project, helped increase monitoring and source ID efforts, tracked storm drain pollution and helped direct the city’s smoke and dye testing of the storm drain lines for sewage misconnections (helping to identify 5 sewer lines connected to the stormdrains…yuck!). Additionally the group did stewardship cleanups, mapping and finalized their project with a powerpoint presentation and ordinance recommendations for the Newport City Council.

Newport Chapter partners with local agencies to promote clean water

In early 2007, the Surfrider Foundation was approached by the Lincoln Soil and Water Conservation District about participating in a joint water quality monitoring program.

"It just made a lot of sense," commented Charlie Plybon, Surfrider Foundation Oregon Field Coordinator. "They were looking for folks who are invested in their community's watershed and could offer support in field sampling and lab work for a volunteer monitoring project."

It was a perfect match: Surfrider already had the lab and the project funding would support other supplies needed for testing additional water quality parameters. "The partners and expertise of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) made this project move forward quite smoothly," Plybon noted. "We developed a framework for cooperation bringing Surfrider Foundation, Lincoln Soil and Water Conservation District, DEQ, and the Oregon Coast Aquarium into a formal partnership."

Using DEQ training and expertise, volunteers across the Mid-Coast Basin familiar with local watersheds "are able to test for different water quality parameters and engage as a community in this statewide process," Plybon continued. "Surfrider had been doing very similar testing on beaches in the area, so they fit well with the model for local partners."

Although water quality sampling occurs upstream and not on the beaches, it is still of great interest for Surfrider. "What happens in the river will eventually make its way downstream to the ocean. Making land-sea connections is extremely important in assessing our coastal water quality," said Plybon.

The Mid-Coast Basin is located on Oregon's central coast from Cascade Head, located north of Lincoln City, to Siltcoos and Tahkenitch Lakes south of Florence. The basin contains a combination of urban communities, privately owned agricultural lands, and public and industrial forest land and has approximately 2,765 stream miles in the Siletz-Yaquina, Alsea and Siuslaw sub-basins. About 500 miles have been identified as violating water quality standards for fecal coliform or E. coli bacteria.
Historically, the Mid-Coast Basin estuary systems have been monitored extensively by the DEQ and the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) for benefit of commercial shellfish production, Plybon noted. The estuaries support a commercial shellfishery, as well as many recreational shellfish opportunities. Bacteria loads in the Mid-Coast Basin are potentially from multiple sources including wildlife, sewage treatment plant upsets, on-site septic systems, urban area runoff, and agricultural practices.

"Water quality improvement now requires a comprehensive watershed approach to solving pollution problems. This reflects the combined effects that all the activities in a watershed have on overall water quality," said Plybon. "To solve water quality problems in a stream, river, lake or estuary, we need to consider the cumulative impact from all upstream sources. Surfrider takes this same approach to water quality on the beaches."

DEQ's comprehensive watershed approach for protecting water quality includes developing Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) affecting both point and non-point sources. "DEQ is diligently working to have federally-approved TMDLs on all water bodies listed in 1998 for not meeting standards by the end of this decade," Plybon said. "This timeframe takes into account the urgency to save declining salmon runs, the desire of landowners to begin working on restoration efforts, and the desire of communities to safeguard their drinking water sources. The goal of this project is to acquire sufficient data to develop a TMDL for bacteria in the Mid-Coast Basin."

The Oregon DEQ will use this bacteria data, together with flow data, to develop load duration curves to establish TMDL Load Allocations and Wasteload Allocations on bacteria-listed streams and others streams where bacteria violations are found.

The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of the world's oceans, waves, and beaches. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains more than 50,000 members and 63 chapters across the United States and Puerto Rico, with international affiliates in Australia, Europe, Japan, and Brazil.

The Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District works to improve and conserve natural resources on agricultural, forested, private, urban and rural lands in Lincoln County, Oregon by providing information, education, and outreach; technical assistance to private landowners to develop and implement conservation plans on their property; an interface between agencies and landowners; and collaborating with federal, state, and local government agencies and groups.

Originally posted by
Newport News-Times.com on July 3. 2007.

Surfrider in Newport, Oregon Partners with City to Track Sources of Pollution

Answers sought for Nye Beach water quality problems: City partners with Surfrider Foundation to find solution
Posted on Newportnewstimes.com on Jan 18, 2008 by Steve Card of the News-Times

On an all-too-frequent basis, health advisories have been posted on Newport's Nye Beach due to higher-than-normal levels of bacteria in the ocean waters at that location. To determine why the bacteria levels are consistently high, and to find a solution to the problem, city officials have teamed up with the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enhancement of oceans and beaches.

Charlie Plybon, Oregon field coordinator for Surfrider, said they sample water quality at locations up and down the coast, and they were regularly getting high bacteria readings at Nye Creek in Newport. Eventually, the Oregon Department of Humans Services, too, began taking water samples at Nye Beach as part of its beach monitoring program, and this has led to the frequent health advisories being issued for that area.

Realizing this is a problem that needs to be dealt with, the city has struggled to determine the cause. The fact that there is a sewer pump station nearby, and that the city discharges treated wastewater offshore from Nye Beach, led to speculation by some members of the public the city was fouling its own beach. But both Surfrider and the city have done extensive water testing in the area, leading them to conclude the source of contamination is not from the sanitary sewer system or the outfall from the treatment plant. In fact, when water samples were taken upstream from the sewer pump station, bacteria levels remained high.

“I think one of the biggest achievements we've made with the City of Newport, from a Surfrider standpoint, was we both recognized there's an issue with the water coming out of the pipe at Nye Creek (at the seawall),” Plybon said. “The bacteria levels we were measuring were not coming from the wastewater treatment plant and the outfall of that. It was in the storm water line.”

How that pollution is entering the storm drainage system is not yet known, but Plybon said there are two possible sources. Heavy rains can wash animal waste - both wild and domestic - into the storm sewer, which contributes to high bacterial levels. The other source would be from human waste. “At the levels that Surfrider is finding, we're not comfortable attributing all of this to background bacteria levels (from animal waste) in storm water,” he said.

To track down the source of the pollution, the city is attempting to isolate areas of high bacterial levels through a stepped-up water-testing program. In addition to testing at the seawall, “we are also testing Nye Creek and its tributary arms, and we're going up into the storm drain systems ... trying to chase this problem down,” said City Engineer Lee Ritzman. Ritzman said he agrees with Plybon's assessment that not all of the bacteria is being generated by animal waste. If it were, then the bacteria level would be high after a heavy rain and would eventually drop back off. But that is not the case. “We think we're finding something that is consistently high,” he said.

Ritzman said there is a possibility that somewhere within the Nye Beach drainage basin, there could be household sewage going directly into the storm drain. Back in the 1970s, the city had one sewer system to collect both storm water and household sewage. When these were separated into two systems, a household could have been missed, “or somebody has a septic system that's hooked into the storm drain.” He added it would only take one residence dumping sewage into the storm drain to get the elevated bacteria count being seen in the water samples.

Once the city isolates a “hot” zone, where bacteria levels in storm water are high, then they can try to find the specific source of the problem. “Charlie's group has offered to provide some help when it becomes appropriate, where we would go in and do dye testing of sewer systems,” said Ritzman. “We can open a manhole (in the sanitary sewer) flush some florescent dye down the toilet, and then make sure that it shows up in the manhole.” If they don't see the dye, then they'll do further investigation to see if that particular residence is a source of the problem. “It's like trying to prove a negative, in some cases,” said Ritzman. “We find the positives and eliminate them.”

Another option being considered by the city is DNA testing on the water samples collected. A basic test can determine whether or not there is human waste present. But the city may want to take it a step further, Ritzman said. More extensive DNA testing can tell them what percentage of the bacteria is coming from human or animal waste. It can also determine what type of bird or animal waste it is - such as seagull, raccoon or dog. “We can't draw a lot of conclusions,” he said, “but we would hope that it would give us a general idea.” Determining what type of waste is contributing to the problem will help determine a remedy, he said.

Even if it does turn out that animal waste is not the primary cause of the high bacteria levels, Plybon would like to see that issue addressed as a long-term goal. “There's a lot of wildlife and domestic animals (in this area). They may not be the ‘hot' source that's creating this really, really high bacteria, but they are a contributor. And every little accumulating piece basically exacerbates the problem.” He would like to see some long-term planning with a goal toward cleaner storm water. “There's things that we can implement now that will help us long term,” he said. “You could make it city code for everybody to pick up their pet waste. They do that in Corvallis and in Portland.”

Firestone said while there isn't an ordinance pertaining to that yet, “it's coming up for a city council work session. The intent is to ask the council to adopt a dog waste ordinance.”

O'Neal believes that often people simply don't make the connection between pet waste and water quality.

There is yet another issue that results in the contamination of Nye Beach, and that is when the city experiences a sewer spill at its pump station. That happens occasionally, and when it does, the city posts an advisory at the beach. Plybon said it is unfortunate when those incidents occur, but people should not try to link it to the other water quality problems because they are two separate issues. “Unfortunately there are other events (sewer spills). They do happen, and those things should be treated separately and not become part of this problem.”

As far as the on-going water-quality problem, Plybon said, “I feel optimistic they're going to find this (source of contamination), that we're going to solve this issue.”

City Manager Allen O'Neal said the problem has been very frustrating for the city. “There are some people who have made comments in public ... almost with the suggestion that we as staff think it's OK, or that we are perpetrating it.

“There's obviously a lot of frustration over this,” continued O'Neal. “We, too, are frustrated, but we are approaching this in a methodical and a scientific way, and our partnership with Surfrider improves our opportunity for determining the cause.”

Plybon said the ultimate goal of both the city and Surfrider “is we don't want these advisories in Nye Beach anymore. From a health perspective, it's bad. From a business perspective, it's bad.”

Newport isn't alone in its struggle to overcome this type of problem, added Plybon. “From a coastal perspective, up and down the state of Oregon, there's a lot of areas that are challenged in this way. To Newport's credit, I don't know of any other municipality along the coast that is testing in this fashion. I think the city deserves some credit for that.”

http://newportnewstimes.com/articles/2008/01/18/news/news03.txt

related editorial http://newportnewstimes.com/articles/2008/01/23/opinion/opinion01.txt

County Reserve on Mend

(as posted on MAR 31, 2007 6:00 AM BY EDWARD CARPENTER, THE EXAMINER)

MOSS BEACH, CA -
Increased water monitoring and quick action to track down and end bacterial discharges into one of the county’s pristine wildlife sanctuaries has resulted in a dramatic improvement in water quality at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.The popular reserve, near the coastal community of Moss Beach, has seen a 60 percent drop in the number of beach warnings posted compared to 2001, according to Dean Peterson, director of environmental health for San Mateo County.

“We have seen a vast improvement in the water quality,” Peterson said.

The reserve is home to a variety of seaweed, crabs, sponges, sea stars, mollusks and fish, many of which can be viewed by walking through the easily accessible intertidal pools. An estimated 130,000 local residents and travelers visit the beach each year, according to officials. The greatest danger to visitors in recent years has been coliform and E. coli bacterial contamination — which comes from animal and human feces — found all too often in the waters of the reserve and south to Pillar Point Harbor, Peterson said. Exposure to the bacteria has been known to result in the contraction of hepatitis or influenza, Peterson said.

Aside from the thousands of schoolchildren and tourists who visit the reserve, residents who buy fish directly off the docks and surfers could also be at risk, said Carolann Towe, of the nonprofit environmental group Surfrider Foundation. Towe monitors the water quality in the area on a weekly basis. From a high that exceeded the state standard for contaminants by 60 times back in 2001, she has seen the numbers plunge to within what the state allows, Towe said.

Working with horse ranchers, clearing out homeless camps along San Vicente Creek — which runs into the reserve — and sealing off two illicit residential sewer overflow pipes that drained into the creek have made a tremendous difference, Peterson said.

Rich Allen, a coast side rancher, was one of those who worked with the county and Towe, to move fences and horse paddocks to prevent manure from running off in San Vincente Creek, which ultimately empties into the reserve.

“We realized that we had to make sure that the water that leaves our ranch is just as clean as the water the runs into it,” Allen told The Examiner on Friday.

In 2005, the reserve was designated one of 36 “critical coastal areas” in the Bay Area, leading to a handful of organizations turning their focus toward tracking down and measuring runoff contaminants, Al Wanger of the California Coastal Commission said. In Fitzgerald Marine Reserve’s case, development in nearby Montara also plays a role, Wanger said. “One of the largest threats to coast and ocean is runoff, and that’s what this program is trying to get at.”

A major goal of the critical coastal areas program is to develop a comprehensive plan to tackle water runoff, preventing it or using natural filters such as plants and culverts to clean the water before it makes its way to the coast, said Kelly Nelson, executive director of the San Mateo County Resource Conservation District. But such a plan may still be a year or two away, as local governments, environmentalists and local residents work to identify pollution sources and find the best ways to put a voluntary stop to them, Wanger said.

http://www.examiner.com/a-649285~County_marine_reserve_on_mend.html